Just a couple of days after it finally gained approval, a Commodore 64 emulator app for the iPhone has been pulled from the App Store over concerns that users can access the software's underlying BASIC programming language.

Despite its obvious appeal to nostalgic gamers, the Commodore 64 for iPhone app suffered through a very long and drawn-out approval process. Apple was apparently worried about the presence of the BASIC programming language and the potential havoc users could unleash with it; after some negotiations, developer Manomio removed access to the BASIC shell and Apple finally gave it the thumbs-up. It became an immediate hit, breaking the top-20 paid games list in most territories within two days.

All was well for a day or so, until some enterprising folks discovered that BASIC wasn't actually removed, just hidden, and that accessing it was a remarkably simple procedure. Needless to say, Apple wasn't too happy about this particular turn of events and responded by immediately pulling the game.

Manomio claims it only recently became aware of the trick and has submitted a new build of the emulator to Apple which properly removes BASIC access. Unfortunately, it didn't arrive in time to keep the emulator from being removed from the App Store, so the studio is now trying to arrange a meeting with Apple to clear up the matter and get the program back on the App Store "as quickly as possible."

RRilef:Can someone explain to a non-programmer, why having access to the BASIC would be a bad thing.

Because Apple hate anybody being able to exploit anything on their phone - they don't want people to realise that, "hey, I could have a far better operating system than this turdbuffet that Apple has littering their overpriced novelty phone!"

You see, back when BASIC was in vogue, it usually included "poke" instructions for manipulating the hardware by using MOS 6510 assembly language. Apple fear that people will figure out to do the same thing with the ARM processor in the iPhone (and the MOS 6510 and ARM architectures are loosely related, Acorn Computers having used an MOS 6502 in the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron models in the mid-1980s). The development tools for the iPhone only allow people to go so far - unfortunately.

Ok seriously. I don't even remember how to program in BASIC and I spent 2 years fiddling around with it. I don't even think people would've known that BASIC was being used on the iPhone if Apple hadn't flown off the handle at this.

The lengths that Apple go to over things like this is baffling at times.

RRilef:Can someone explain to a non-programmer, why having access to the BASIC would be a bad thing.

Also the idea of giving the user a full on console on a console meant that any games created for the C64 app could be free and would not have to go through apple approval. Basically it means that Apple could be losing a potential profit.